Door or gate hanger.



No. 639,345. Patented Dec. 19, I899.

E D BRADFORD DOOR DR GATE HANGER.

(Appl t fldD 9 189B) 2 Sheets8heet I,

(No Model.)

15555;.- EJZBTMfOI'd No. 639,345. Patented Dec. l9, I899. E. D. BRADFORD.

DOOR. 0R GATE HANGER.

(Appliqption filed. Dec. 9, 1898.)

2 Sheats$heet 2.

(No Model.)

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EDWARD D. BRADFORD, OF MGLOUlI-I, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ABRAHAM BOWMAN, OF SAME PLACE.

DOOR OR GATE HANGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 639,345, dated December 19, 1899. Application filed December 9,1898, Serial No. 698,691. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, EDWARD D. BRADFORD, of McLouth, Jefferson county, Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door 0r Gate Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to door or gate hangers; and my object is to generally improve the construction embodied in Patent No. 613,235, issued to me on November 1, 1898. In said construction is embraced a link 21, which as the gate opens pushes forward to keep it off the ground and as it passes its half-open position reverses its function and pulls to force the gate farther rearward than it otherwise would go before dropping back on the ground. In both these actions said link resists the tendency of the gate to fall.

In the present construction the tendency of the door is to draw the links attached to it away from the perpendicular after being closed or opened, and this tendency is resisted by links corresponding to the link 21, except that said links are slotted at one end. The tendency of the gate of this application, like the patented construction, is to draw the links attached to it toward the perpendicular, and this tendency is resisted by the slotted links, which thus perform an opposite function from the slotted links of the door, this difference of function being due to the fact that the hanger when used with the door is inverted. It will thus be seen that I have eliminated entirely the pushing function of thelinks of the former patent. Consequently instead of the bars shown in the drawings I may use slender rods, as will be readily understood after reading the specification and examining the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a door provided with my improved hanger. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same and in dotted lines shows the door open. Fig. 3 is a side view of the hanger as used in connection with a gate and also shows the gate and hanger in their relative positions when the gate is open. Fig. tis a perspective view of the construction shown in Fig. 3.

Referring first to Sheet 1 of the drawings,

1 designates a barn or other building provided with brackets 2 3 at suitable points.

4 designates a door closing an opening in said building.

5 designates a horizontal reinforce-bar secured to the upper edge of the door, and 6 a staple projecting forward from the door vertically below its center.

7 designates a bracket projecting from the building at the lower edge of the door and serving to prevent the latter from swinging out at its lower end as it is opened or closed, and. 8 is a stop-bracket, also projecting from the building, to limit the movement of the doorinitsclosingmovement. Thesebrackets 7 and 8 are, however, of minor importance, as the same objects may be accomplished by other means.

0 designates a swingarm pivoted at its upper end to bracket 2 and having its lower end extending loosely through the staple 6, so as to hold it close to the door.

9? designates a companion, but shorter, swing-arm pivoted at its upper end to bar 3 and extending parallel with arm 9, it being understood, of course, that said arms may be of the same 1ength, as the extension of arm 9 through the staple 6 serves simply as a convenient and easy means for holding or assisting in holding the lower end of the hanger against the side of the door.

At equal distances from their pivotal points the arms 9 and 9 carry bolts 10, and mounted 'pivotally at its opposite ends upon said bolts is the tie-bar 11, said bar serving to maintain the swing-arms always in their parallel relation.

12 12 designate a pair of links which are pivoted at their upper ends, as at 13, to the door and at their lower ends are mounted pivotally upon the bolts 10, and consequently diverge upward with respect to the swing-arms 9 9.

14 designates an oblique link which is pivoted at its upper end, as at 15, to the link 12 and is provided at its lower end with a longitudinal slot 16, engaging the bolt 17, secured in the lower end of swing-arm 9 14* is asim'ilar oblique link which intersects or crosses the link 14 and tie-bar 11 and is pivoted at its upper end to the link 12, as at 15. Its lower end is also provided with a longitudinal slot 16, engaging bolt 17, carried by the swingarm 9.

When the door is closed, the hanger occupies the relative position shown in full lines, with the bolt 17 at the upper end of slot 16 of link 14 and the bolt 17 of the companion swing-arm in the lower end of slot, 16 of the intersecting link 14, it being noted in this connection that the tendency of the door is to swing downward and outward and draw the attached links farther away from the perpendicularthatis to say, to swing upon the pivotbolts in the direction indicated by the arrows (1. This tendency, however, is defeated, owing to the fact that the lower end of the slot of link 14, pivotally connecting swingarm 9 and link 12, is in engagement with the bolt 17 at the lower end of swinging arm 9 and, in effect, plays upon the link 12 above its pivot-bolt 10. The door as it is pulled or pushed in opening practically slides in a horizontal plane, and as it reaches a positionwhere the links 12 and the swing-arms 9 9 are vertical the links 14 14 are practically on a balancethat is to say, they neither push nor pu lland the bolts 17 are in the lower ends of slots 16. The opening movement of the door continuing, the formerly-operative link 14 becomes inoperative and the lower end of the slot of link 14 commences to bear against its respective bolt 17. This action in effect causes said link to pull in the directions indicated by the arrows at upon link 12 above its pivotbolt 10, and this action continues until and afterthe door reachesits open position. When thus opened, it is obvious that the tendency of the door, by specific gravity, is toswing the attached links farther away from the perpendicular or in the direction indicated by the arrows I), this tendency being defeated by the link 14 pulling back upon the link 12 above its pivot-bolt 10. In closing the door thelink 14 continues to pull upon the link 12 in the direction opposite to that indicated by arrows 1) until the door again reaches its half-way position, when both links 14 and 14 are balanced, as above described, As the closing movement continues past this point link 14- becomes functionless and the originally-operative link 14 commences to pull back upon the door untiland afterit is completely closed.

In the opening and closing movement of the door the swing-arm 9 works longitudinally through the staple 6. This staple, as before stated, may, however, be dispensed with, as may also the supplemental guide 7 and stop 8.

Referring now to Sheet 2, illustrating the application of the hanger to a gate, 18 designates a pair of posts arranged a suitable distance apart and at one side of the gateway and connected at their upper ends by a crossbar 19, extending parallel with the roadway.

2O designates brackets bolted or otherwise secured to opposite sides of said posts so as to provide vertical guide-slots wherein the inner ends of the levers 21 operate, said isvers being pivoted to brackets 22, secured to the posts and provided at their outer ends with pendent cords 23 within easy reach of a person walking or riding along the road.

24 designates a pair of swing-arms pivoted to posts 18 at suitable points and connected at their upper ends by the cross-bolt 25.

26 designates a second pair of swing-arms pivoted at their lower ends to uprights 27 and connected at their upper ends by a cross-bolt 28, said arms extending parallel with arms 24 and pivotally connected thereto by a tiebar 29, mounted at its opposite ends upon cross-bolts and 28.

3O designates a gate of any suitable or preferred construction and about twice as long as the tie-bar 29, it being preferable, however, that said gate be provided with an extension 30, projecting rearward from its upper end, for a purpose Which is hereinafter explained, and said gate is arranged to operate centrally between the swing-arms 24 and between the swing-arms 26.

31 designates a pair of links, one at each side of the gate, which are pivotally mounted near their upperends upon cross-bolt 25 and at their lower ends upon cross-bolt 32, secured in the gate. A similar and companion pair of links 33 are pivoted to opposite sides of the gate at its rear end and in the same plane as the pivot 32, as at 34, and near their upper ends said links 33 are pivoted upon the crossbolt 28 of swing-arms 26. Links 31 and 33 by preference are arranged between the swingarms 24 and 26, respectively.

35 designates a pair of links which are pivoted at their upper ends upon a bolt 36, car ried by links 31 above bolt 25 and provided near their lower ends with longitudinal slots 37, engaging bolts 38, secured to swing-arms 26 below the cross-bolt 28. The distance be= tween bolts 25 and 36 and bolts 28 38 may be the same, but. it is immaterial in general Whether it is so or not. By making the dis tance between bolts 25 and 36 slightly less than the distance between bolts 28 and 38 the gate can be projected forward farther ICO than if the distance between said points be pivoted at their upper ends upon bolt 40, carried in the upper ends of links 33, and provided with longitudinal slots 41 near their lower ends, which engage the bolts 42, carried by swing-arms 24, at a distance from bolt 25 equal to the distance between bolts 28 and 38 of swing-arms 26. The distance between bolts 28 and 40 should also be about the same as between bolts 25 and 36, and the relative distance between bolts 28 40 and 25 42 may be varied for the purpose of varying the dis- 'tance which the gate may be projected to the rear. In order to operate these swing-arms, one pair, preferably that comprising swingarms 24, is pivotally connected by pull-rods 43 with the levers 21 near their front ends, and to insure a straight or direct reciprocation of the gate I arrange at opposite sides of the same and between posts 18 the upright guide 44 and at the opposite side of the roadway the uprights 45, said uprights being connected by cross-bars 46. One or more of said cross-bars is provided with a pair of angleblocks 4'7, so as to form a wedge-shaped re- 1 cess to receive the front end and center of the gate when closed. This holds the gate practically rigid, as will be readily seen.

To open the gate, the outer end of either lever may be depressed by grasping and pulling down on the attached cord. This, through the medium of the connecting link-rod 43, swings the swing-arms toward the vertical or perpendicular position, said swing-arms moving together because they are connected by a rigid tie-bar 29. As said tie-bars start to operate, it is obvious that the tendency of the gate is to swing down and toward the attached links toward the perpendicular-that is, to swing down until its pivotal points 32and 34 are vertically below the suspension-points 25 28, respectively; but this tendency is overcome by the links 35, which perform an analogous function to the links 14, hereinbefore referred to-that is to say, as the swingarms 26 begin to move in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 4, the bolts 38 are at the lower ends of slots 37 of said links, which by pulling back upon bolt 36 at the upper ends of links 31 tend to swing the same forward, thereby defeating the natural tendency of the gate, which would be to drop down as the downward divergence between swingarms 24 26 and links 31 33, respectively, became less. On the contrary, the eifect of said links is to permit the links 31 33 to approach the angle of the swing-arms only at a speed proportionate to the movement of the gate. As a result, the gate does not drag on the one hand and is lifted but afew inches on the other and is at its highest point of elevation when occupying its half-open position-that is, when said links 31 33 and swing-arms 24 26 are about vertical. In this movement of the gate from its closed to its open position the companion links 39 are functionless, owing to the slots playing freely upon bolts 42, and when said gate assumes its halfopen position the links 33 cease to be operative, and said intersecting links are practically on a balance. As the opening movement of the gate continues, however, the lower ends of slots 41 of the formerly-inoperative links 39 bear against the bolts 42 and, in effect,by pulling forward upon the upper ends of links retard the descending movement of the gate until it is moved longitudinally rearward the requisite distance--the distance it must travel in order to complete the opening movement and leave the roadway entirely clear. It will thus be seen that the links 35 are operative until the gate is half-way open and that at such point the companion links 39 take up the work and complete the opening of the gate. In closing the gate the operation is reversed that is to say, the last-named links are operative until the gate is half closed and from such point the links 35 take up the work and insure the complete closing of the gate.

In practice, as before stated, a f ull-sized gate is lifted only a few inches, and most of this lift occurs at the initial point of the movementthat is, as the gate starts to open or as it starts to close-the remainder of the travel being practically in a horizontal line.

The extension 30 hereinbefore referred to, serves to guide the rear end of the gate between the links 33 and the front end of the gate between the posts 45.

From the aloove description it will be ap parent that the gate-hanger is a precise duplicate of the door-hanger, except that in the former construction it is preferable to employ double sets of swing-arms and links, as by so doing a more substantial .gate may be made. This double-set construction may of course be employed in connection with the door; but it would needlessly increase the expense.

By inverting the hanger a rearrangement is necessary in order to obtain the desired effeet-that is, to cause the door to rise slightly at the initial point of its movement in either direction, and then travel horizontally and make a fairly quick-descent at the termination of its movement-this rearrangement consisting simply in cutting off the links 12 12 corresponding to links 31 33, at the points of intersection with the swing-arms and extending said swing-arms a little beyond instead of terminating them at such points, as shown in Sheet 2. The intersecting links-then pivotally connect the extended ends of the swingarms with the links 12 12 intermediate of their length, while in Sheet 2 the intersecting links connect the extended ends of links 31 33 with the swing-arms at a point intermediate of their length. While this change is made for the purpose explained, it is obvious that it'is not necessary, as the simple inversion of the gate-hanger when applied to the door will open or close the latter with the same freedom and ease of motion, except that the initial movement of the door will be down instead of up and the termination of said movement up instead of down. In other words, if the hanger was inverted when used in connection with the gate the latter could be opened or closed if a trench a few inches deep and of suitable length and width'were provided beneath it.

A door or gate carried by my improved hanger can be opened by an endwise pressure or by the manipulation of either of the levers, but does not respond readily to a direct lifting movement applied to the gate, and therefore needs no lock to prevent a hog from openingit. As an additional precaution, however, for preventing an animal from raising it and passing through the gateway, I clamp a vertically-slotted bracket 48 upon the tiebar, with its lower end pressing down'upon the gate. By this arrangement it is absolutely impossible for a hog to raise the gate over an inch or two; but the bracket does not interfere with the opening and closing of the gate by pushing it endwise or by manipulating either of the levers, for the reason that the distance between said bar and the top of the gate is less when the gate is fully opened or closed than at any other time. The bracket may of course be entirely dispensed with if the gate be situated at a point to which hogs have no access; but it has no more effect on the operation of the gate when arranged in the position shown in Fig. 3 than it would have if totally disconnected from the gate. It is shown in inoperative position simply to illustrate the idea that by this means the dan=- ger of misplacement consequent upon leaving it off the gate may be avoided.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have. produced a door or gate hanger wherein the pushing function of the link 21 of my former patent is entirely eliminated, and it is to be understood that while the accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention I reserve the right to make such changes in the detail construction, arrangement, form, or proportion of the parts as properly fall Within its spirit and scope.

Having thus described the invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A door or gate hanger, comprising a pair of swing-arms, a tie-bar connecting the same at their free ends, a pair of links pivotally of swing-arms, a tie-bar connecting the same at their free ends, a pair of links pivotally connected to the door or gate and to said swing-arms, and a pair of intersecting links pivotally connecting the swing-arms with the links which connect the swing-arms to the door or gate; the connection at one end of each intersecting link being a pin-and-slot connection, substantially as described.

A door or gate hanger, comprising a pair of swing-arms, a tie-bar connecting the same at their'free ends, a pair of links pivotally connected to the door or gate and to said swing-arms, a pair of intersecting links pivotally connecting the swing-arms with the links which connect the swing-arms to the door or gate, and a bracket carried by said tie-bar and adapted to bear upon the top of the door or gate to prevent the latter being vertically elevated when in its closed or opened position, substantially as described.

4. A door or gate hanger,-comprising a pair of swing-arms, a tie-bar connecting the same at their free ends, a pair of links pivotally connected to the door or gate and to said swing-arms coincidentally with the points of connection of the latter with the said tie-bar, a pairof intersectinglinks pivotallyconnecting the swing-arms to the links connected to the door or gate; the connection at one end of each intersectinglink being asliding connection, and a pair of levers linked to said swing-arms to impart movement to the latter and thereby open or close the door or gate, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I afitix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD D. BRADFORD.

Vitnesses:

MATT EDMONDS, WM. STOUT. 

